How would you have "saved" this 'almost disaster' in canning today?

[Midnightmom]

Perhaps "rescued" is a better word???

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I had 6 pounds of Sweet Italian Sausage all cooked up and ready to be canned. I stood at the counter and cut of the ends of each link and put them in a separate bowl, then sliced the rest of the links into coins and put them back into the cooking broth to keep them hot. (I was going to eat the end pieces for dinner tonight.) 

 

I had 6 jars filled with the meat and the broth, and I was working on filling the other 3 with tomato sauce. I turned around from the sink and my arm caught the handle of the funnel and knocked it to the floor!  The sausage chunks spilled out of the jar onto the floor (without breaking the jar!) Thankfully I had not added the spaghetti sauce to the jar yet!  I had prevented the dog from scarfing up the meat, so I picked it up and put it into a bowl.   Now what do I do??? 

(BTW - I did process a full load of 9 jars.)

 

With the information I have given you, what would you have done? 

 

What do you think I did? (The correct answer gets this blue ribbon.        

Edited April 26, 2023 by Midnightmom

[Jeepers]

I would have picked the meat up off of the floor, rinsed it off at the sink, put it back in the jar, added the sauce and processed it. If I were hot packing I would have heated it back up before putting it back in the jar. I figure pressure canning would take care of any cooties. I don't imagine your floor was that dirty any way. Congrats on your 9 jars.

[Virginia]

Agreeing with Jeepers.

[Darlene]

Rinse and repack. 

[Mother]

I would probably do the same thing, rinse WELL and repack.  If you could see some of the conditions at meat packing places you might be shocked.  

[euphrasyne]

I have kids and cats, if it hits the floor, it belongs to them.  I'm too OCD and picky to deal with floors and food.  If it falls in packaging it is fine or fruit like apples or bananas that aren't peeled yet  I can wash those.   But anything like meat or diced veg.....it is kid/cat territory now.  

[Littlesister]

I agree with with Jeepers, Pick it up put it in colander, rinse it off good and heat back up and start again.

[Midnightmom]

13 hours ago, Jeepers said:

I would have picked the meat up off of the floor, rinsed it off at the sink, put it back in the jar, added the sauce and processed it. If I were hot packing I would have heated it back up before putting it back in the jar. I figure pressure canning would take care of any cooties. I don't imagine your floor was that dirty any way. Congrats on your 9 jars.

 

Close! 

I picked up the meat, put it into a bowl and rinsed all of the dog hair off of it!  

Then I washed the jar, and packed it with the end pieces that I had cut off and placed into a different bowl, added the spaghetti sauce and processed the jars. 

The meat that hit the floor was part of my dinner that night. 

 

 

 

[Jeepers]

When I'm canning green beans etc. If one falls on the floor, I pick it up and wash it off and don't give it another thought. I wouldn't treat meat any differently. As expensive as meat is, you bet I'm rinsing it off and canning it. 

[Littlesister]

Remember the 5 second rule?